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India is gearing up to begin their ODI World Cup 2023 journey against Australia, and one of the biggest talking points of this tournament was R Ashwin, who has been recalled to the side in the absence of Axar Patel. The match, scheduled for Sunday, October 8, at Chennai's Chepauk Stadium, is expected to be a grand event, a sentiment also expressed by ex-India captain Sourav Ganguly, who believes that Ravichandran Ashwin is India's best spinner.
"It's good that India have brought him back because he is the best spinner that we have. R Ashwin is the best spinner for India, and the best spinners always have a place in all formats of the game," he told Sports Tak in an exclusive interview.
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"Pakistan also have many left-handed batters in their team. As the tournament goes on, the wickets will get slower. In a team which also has an extra fast bowling option in Hardik Pandya, we can afford to play three spinners in Jadeja, Ashwin and Kuldeep Yadav."
The former BCCI president also revealed a hilarious conversation with the spinner, saying, "There is one thing that has left me surprised, and I even asked Ashwin about, 'Why do you only play World Cups!' He did not get an answer. So this one thing has left me shocked."
Ganguly also appealed to the pitch curators to not make any rank turners because such pitches help the opponents as much as they help the Indian team. "Please do not make a rank turner. Earlier, against Australia when we played and lost in Chepauk, the ball was spinning there. If their batters get trapped, then so do ours. And their spinners become wicket-taking bowlers, which might not take place on a better wicket. Our world-class spinners are more skilful than the likes of Maxwell," he added,
He also highlighted Virat Kohli as the X Factor for India at the ODI World Cup. "The real X Factor is Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill. I have a lot of hopes from Gill especially. He knows how to play ODIs now and people can see that. But for Kohli, this will be a very important World Cup. He won the World Cup in 2011 as a young player. Now he is one of the most experienced players on the pitch. He has the responsibility that players like Dhoni, Sachin and Yuvraj had in 2011," Ganguly concluded.
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